Photo shows the exterior of the fifth unit of the Yangjiang nuclear power plant in Yangjiang, south China's Guangdong Province. Photo: Xinhua

China's nuclear power generating capacity will jump by 60 percent to 100 million kW by 2025 from the 2019 level, the nation's top nuclear industry body said.

China's nuclear power industry is expected to maintain steady growth in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), and the nation is expected to add six to eight reactor units each year during the period, media reports said on Wednesday, citing a blue paper by China Nuclear Energy Association.

As of the end of 2019, China has a total of 47 power-generating reactor units in operation, with a total installed capacity of 48.75 million kW, making China the third largest country in nuclear power generation trailing the US and France.

China led the world in nuclear power capacity building, with 13 reactors under construction as of 2019. Nuclear power accounts for 4.88 percent of China's primary energy source.

The nuclear industry body predicts by 2025 China will have a total of 100 million kW of reactors in operation and under construction, a 60 percent rise from 2019 level. By 2035, the figure may double to 200 million kW.

The association also expects China's homegrown Hualong One third-generation nuclear power plant's fist overseas project in Pakistan to enter production in 2020. 

Global Times